1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to the field of sample analysis. More particularly, the invention relates to an automated biological sample analysis system.
2. Description of the Related Art
Modern chemistry and biology laboratories produce and analyze multiple samples concurrently in order to accelerate the development cycle. The samples are often produced and stored in a sample storage, such as the individual wells in a multi-well plate. A laboratory may simultaneously have tens of thousands of samples prepared for analysis. Automation is needed to provide rapid storage and retrieval of any multi-well plate. However, the amount of laboratory space is limited and it is desirable for an automated system to occupy minimal laboratory space.
However, some types of sample production and analysis must be performed in controlled environments. Often the environment requires refrigeration. For example, in protein crystallography, samples are often incubated for long periods of time at controlled temperatures to induce production of crystals. Hundreds or thousands of samples in sample wells may be periodically viewed or otherwise analyzed to determine the existence of crystals in a sample well.
In a manual process, a technician removes each multi-well plate or sample storage receptacle from a storage location and views each sample well under a microscope. The samples are typically incubated in a refrigerated environment and are highly sensitive to changes in the environment. Thus, typically, the samples are stored in a refrigerated laboratory and the technician removes the sample storage receptacles and views the sample wells under a microscope in the refrigerated room. The need for a refrigerated room expands the amount of laboratory space that needs to be dedicated to protein crystallization and conversely, reduces the amount of laboratory space available for other experiments.
Other problems associated with manually examining each sample well include low throughput and high susceptibility to sample damage due to handling. A technician is unable to process thousands of samples in a short period of time. Additionally, protein crystals are extremely fragile and sensitive to the growth environment. A technician is unable to uniformly handle each sample storage receptacle. The technician transmits different levels of shock and vibration to each of the sample wells when transporting and handling the samples. Even with the utmost of care, the technician can damage the samples due to the amount of shock and vibration imparted by handling the samples.
Some large-scale automated systems minimize the amount of manual handling experienced by a sample. These mega-incubators are designed for extremely large-scale operations. A heavy duty X/Y robot is placed in a temperature controlled room designed to store tens of thousands of sample plates, with each sample plate capable of containing hundreds of samples in individual sample wells. The X/Y robot removes a sample from a storage location and transports it to a single imaging station. The imaging station can be manually operated or can be an automated imaging system that takes an image of the sample.
The mega-incubator systems are designed for large-scale operations and lack the flexibility required in medium sized organizations. For example, the system is housed within a temperature controlled room and requires the entire system be maintained at the same temperature. Multiple samples cannot be tested at multiple temperatures. Additionally, the systems are confined to a single multi-well plate format and hardware in the robot and image system must be reconfigured for changes in the multi-well plate format.
What is needed is a sample imaging system that has the flexibility of manual plate handling and the efficiency of an automated system. The sample imaging system needs to minimize the shock and vibration experienced by the samples. The sample imaging system needs to maintain the samples at a stable environment for long periods of time. Additionally, the laboratory space needed to incubate and analyze the samples needs to be minimized.